President Biden Welcomes a “Conversation” about Atlanta Braves’s Name and the Infamous Tomahawk Chop

President Joe Biden met with the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves at the White House on Monday. The team was in the nation’s capital to play the Washington Nationals during the first part of this week.

After visiting the president, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked by a reporter to comment on President Biden’s position on the Atlanta baseball franchise’s name and the infamous “tomahawk chop.”

“We believe that it’s important to have this conversation, and Native American and Indigenous voices, they should be at the center of this conversation,” Jean-Pierre said in response to the question.

“That is something that the president believes, that is something that this administration believes, and he has consistently emphasized that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. You hear that often from this president. The same is true here, and we should listen to Native American and Indigenous people who are the most impacted by this.”

The Atlanta major league team originated as the Milwaukee Braves and moved to Georgia in 1966. The team kept the Braves moniker and continued the usage of Native American imagery. 

In 1990, the team introduced a new logo that features the team’s name with an image of a tomahawk. The next year gave birth to the tomahawk chop.

The fight to have the names associated with Native American imagery has been ongoing that dates back decades.